Thoenes in new role as Mount Pleasant principal

Published 8:00 pm, Sunday, August 7, 2005

Mount Pleasant High School's 1,200 students will have a new name to learn this fall - Principal Jeff Thoenes.

Thoenes, of Midland, started working full time last week and said the job is going well so far.

"I think the main draw is the community," he said. "It's a university town so I think they have a lot of good students and good, supportive parents."

Thoenes plans to keep people involved when making decisions, ensure a smooth transition to the school's new athletic conference, improve Michigan Educational Assessment Program scores where possible, ensure adequate yearly progress is met and make sure budget cuts are focused away from students and programs.

Gary Allen, Mount Pleasant Public Schools superintendent, said Thoenes will be a good fit for the school.

"He brings a variety of experiences to us," he said. "The committee that recommended Jeff to me was impressed with his variety of education experiences and his experience in cities similar to Mount Pleasant."

Allen said the school had an interim principal for one year after Betty Kirby resigned to be a professor at Central Michigan University. Thoenes said he knows the job was done well, but people are looking forward to a long-term leader.

Thoenes is in his first year of CMU's educational and community leadership doctoral program, which he said will take a minimum of four years to complete.

"I'm looking at being the principal here for three to five years, at least," he said.

Thoenes was selected after an extensive interview process that led to two finalists. They had a daylong visit with administrators, staff, students, parents and more. He said the process showed him the school wants people to be involved.

Thoenes has experience as a teacher and school administrator, including assistant principal of Bridgeport-Spaulding Middle School and principal of Bowling Green Junior High School in Ohio. He is bilingual, speaking English and Spanish, and spent time in the Peace Corps.